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Derek Jeter long ago was christened one of the New York Yankees all-time greats. But where does he rank on the Mount Everest of all Mount Everest teams? Here's one man's rankings. I took into account talent, numbers and a bit of "what coulda been," – but not popularlity and personality.

1. Babe Ruth: Somehow, the Bambino/Sultan of Swat/Colossal of Clout managed a ninth-place finish in an online New York City poll of the greatest Yankees in history, just ahead of Reggie Jackson (Mariano Rivera and Jeter were 1-2, which tells me a lot of 20-year-olds voted. But there is no greatest all-around player than Ruth, who could have been a Hall of Fame pitcher if he wasn't such a darn good hitter. There aren't a lot of numbers you remember from your boyhood until now, but millions remember 60 and 714. Babe Ruth didn't just save baseball after the 1919 Black Sox scandal, he reinvented the game.

2. Lou Gehrig: The IronHorse played just 23 games in his first two seasons with the Yankees (1923-24) and eight in his ill-fated last (1939), so his amazing numbers came over 14 full seasons. He hit 492 of his 493 homers in that period, an average of 35 per season. And while Jeter is the first Yankee to reach 3,000 hits, Gehrig easily would have done so if not for the disease that killed him. He finished with 2,721. How many players can say that their 147 RBI season is their EIGHTH-best? An amazing player by any definition.

3. Mariano Rivera: The greatest reliever in baseball history – regular season or postseason. He posted a career 2.21 ERA in the regular season and an unbelievable 0.70 in the postseason. Critics will say he gave up Luis Gonzalez's game-winning, walkoff hit in Game 7 of the 2001 World Series, but do you remember the play? The Yankees were playing in, and Jeter easily would have caught Gonzalez's bloop behind the infield otherwise. Rivera gave up 71 homers in 1,284 innings. His career WHIP was 1.000, also amazing. And, of course, he saved a record 652 games. Like Jeter, he also played on five World Series champions.

4. Joe DiMaggio: The Yankee Clipper missed three full seasons in his prime (1943-44-45) due to his service during World War II. And he ended his career 2,214 hits and 361 home runs. Add those three years and we're talking close to 3,000 hits and around 450 home runs, all with a .325 lifetime batting average. But what really lifts Joltin' Joe this high on the list is his success. He played in 10 World Series in his 13-year career and won nine of them.

A beaming Joe DiMaggio at spring training 1946, after missing three seasons due to World War II.(Photo: The Associated Press)

5. Mickey Mantle: Here's a guy who didn't take care of himself, who played on bum knees, who replaced a living legend (DiMaggio) . . . and still he hit 536 home runs and finished with 2,415 hits (averaging about one per game in his career). One of the biggest regrets of his life is seeing his lifetime batting average dip below .300 (he finished at .298 after hitting .245 and .237 in his final two years). But even that's a great average for a slugger. If you ask someone who grew up in the 1950s and early '60s to list 10 things they associate from that era, chances are great most of them will say "Mickey Mantle." How many athletes have that big of an influence? And he appeared in 12 World Series and won seven of them. An amazing career.

6. Derek Jeter: Jeter's legendary status comes from a variety of things: great work ethic, tremendous results, success in the postseason and the golden age of 24/7 news and highlights. People remember the flip at home plate, and the dash and crash into the stands. He's also the only can't-miss Hall of Famer (other than Rivera) among longstanding Yankees teammates. Think about that: Posada isn't going to the Hall of Fame. O'Neill isn't. Bernie Williams isn't. Maybe Cano is, but not for sure. His 3,400-plus hits are a true testament to his greatness. He has decent power (averaging about 13 homers per season) and has never been league MVP. He is not the greatest Yankee ever, but he is this generation's Ruth or Mantle. And that speaks volumes to his popularity.

7. Yogi Berra: This 5-foot-7 catcher sure accomplished a lot in his career. He hit .285. He homered 358 times, averaging 27 per year. He won three AL MVP titles over a five-year stretch. His teams won 10 World Series titles. He was probably more "successful" than he was "great," but he was both. And is there a more adored Yankee?

8. Whitey Ford: You don't get the nickname "Chairman of the Board" without earning it. And Edward Charles Ford earned it. His 236-106 record gave him the best winning percentage (.690) of any 20th century pitcher. He led the AL in wins three times and in ERA and shutouts twice. He won the 1961 Cy Young Award, and he won more World Series games (10) than anyone. Mantle, his drinking buddy and longtime friend, summed it up best: "I don't care what the situation was, how high the stakes were. The bases could be loaded and the pennant riding on every pitch. It never bothered Whitey Ford. He pitched his game: cool, craft, nerves of steel.

9. Red Ruffing: The right-hander spent 15 of his 22 big-league seasons with the Yankees (1930-47, missing two years due to World War II. He recorded six World Series titles and made six All-Star Games. And he posted a 231-124 record for the Bronx Bombers. Ruffing had one of the stranger careers in big-league baseball. He pitched for the dreadful Boston Red Sox from 1925-29. The team came in last each season, yet he managed to post a worse winning percentage (he was 39-93, .295). Then, he was traded to the Yankees (why did they even want him?) and he reversed his fortune. Now playing for the best team in baseball, his .651 winning percentage was superior to his teams.

10. Don Mattingly: The only man on this list who isn't or won't be in the Hall of Fame, he had the misfortune of playing in a dark area in Yankees history. His 14-year career spanned 1982-2005, when New York did not reach the World Series (they did in the year before he arrived and the year after he left). Mattingly hit .307 for his career, averaging 20 homers and 100 RBI. He won the 1984 AL batting title (.343) and captured nine Gold Glove awards. I have no doubt he would be in the Hall of Fame if his teams were more successful.

Don Mattingly is one of the most popular Yankees of the past 30 years, even though he never played in a World Series.(Photo: The Associated Press)

Author's note: You might have been expecting me to list a certain defensive-flawed, egocentric outfielder who hit .281 with 144 homers and 461 RBI in his five-year (yes, just five) Yankees tenure. But I passed. Reggie Jackson had a great career, but I have always felt his time in New York was overrated and grew exponentially because he hit three home runs in a World Series game. Number retired? Plaque in Monument Park? That was just George being George.